Saying Goodbye

Our plans are starting to gel a bit: the movers are coming on the 15th and we are out then or the next day. We have rented a house for a few weeks in Yamhill, OR. With our leaving being pretty much imminent at this point, my father wanted to come say goodbye. At his age and in his state of not awesome health, he probably had no business making a long, long drive, but he is a stubborn son of a gun. He drove up from his house in Alabama and arrived on Thursday at my aunt and uncle's house in the hills near Burlington WV, a wide spot on US 50 slightly east of Keyser. We drove out from our house on Friday and spent the night catching up one last time before we head west for good.

Susan and Marshall live south of Route 50 back up on a pretty decent hill (about 1200 feet) that has wonderful views of the surrounding mountains, especially from their spacious rear deck. Their house is situated on a very lightly traveled dirt road that just invites you to take a walk through the woods and take in your surroundings. It's a very peaceful place and I really enjoy going there. A bonus is that Susan has several bird feeders at one end of her deck along with a couple of hummingbird feeders hanging from an awning. It's a lot of fun to sit there and watch the birds do their thing, especially the noisy hummers jockeying for feeder rights.

View From the Back Deck

Annie in Doggie Heaven

Charlie Liked Standing on the Bench

Susan and Marshall with Their Dogs

My Father

Happy Hour on the Deck

Ann's still learning about the birds that visit feeders and she is confused, like most people, about the difference between Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers. They look almost identical. But the Hairy is very much larger than the Downy, has a much stouter and longer bill, and a lower call. It was great for Ann to see both birds side-by-side on the feeder so that she could see the differences up close.

Male Hairy Woodpecker, Leuconotopicus villosus

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris

Dad and Marshall Walking the Dogs

We spent a good bit of time outside enjoying the wonderful fall weather that we're having now. It's weather that we should be having a month from now. The only downside is that we usually get about six weeks off from mowing grass this time of year, but not this year. Taking advantage of the cool weather, we took a bunch of walks and I spent some time kicking around the yard where Susan has her tiny garden inside a chain-link fence to keep the deer out. Growing up one side of the fence and covered in hummingbirds was this beautiful Cypressvine, something I have never seen before.

Cypressvine, Ipomoea quamoclit

Sweet Autumn Clematis, Clematis terniflora

Clematis Blooms Up Close

I saw three wildflowers up in the dry shale woods that I have never seen before, including this lavender-blooming mint which was growing everywhere. When I rubbed the leaves, they smelled harshly of oregano. Susan called it Wild Oregano.

American Dittany/Wild Oregano, Cunila origanoides

Another new flower to me was a handsome plant with white bracts surrounding a tiny yellow flower, Pearly Everlasting. I knew what it was based on some western wildflower books I am reading in preparation for moving to Oregon, but I have not encountered it in the east before.

Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea

Catnip, Nepeta cataria

Deptford Pink, Dianthus armeria

This August has been significantly wetter than most and I noticed that the Creeping Lespedeza is doing particularly well this year. Now that we are almost at the first of September, it is blooming profusely all over our region.

Creeping Lespedeza, Lespedeza repens

Toxic Horse-nettle Fruit, Solanum carolinense

The shale in this part of Mineral County WV is full of fossils, full to the point where it is nearly impossible not to see many fossils on a single walk. We saw many types of small shells in the shale as well as worm tubes.

Fossils in the Shale

Our Ladies'-tresses at home are pretty well bloomed out, but we saw a couple, not many, that were just starting to bloom up on the mountain. Some while ago, I would have said what species of Spiranthes this plant is, but I have since learned that there are probably at least a dozen species in our area and I really have no idea which this might be, despite my prior confidence borne of ignorance.

Ladies'-tresses, Spiranthes sp.

Sulphur Cinquefoil, Potentilla recta

The Snakeroots have been starting to bloom in recent weeks and they are always cheerful plants to see when we hike. Boneset is another plant that whose bloom looks similar and can be confusing for some people. The two have very different leaves and growth habits despite having very similar blooms. It was instructive to see the two plants blooming right next to each other so that we could look at the differences comparatively.

White Snakeroot, Ageratina altissima

Common Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum
with Copulating Soldier Beetles

Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina

To be expected at this time of year, the roadsides and woods were littered with goldenrods in full bloom. I have a very hard time separating goldenrods, but this one, growing in a wetter location with long narrow lanceolate leaves and relatively small flower clusters, struck me as being fairly different from the ones that I usually see. I came to find out this it is not a Solidago at all but a Euthamia.

Lance-leaved Goldenrod, Euthamia graminifolia

We were very pleased to see that every patch of milkweed along the road had its share of Monarch Butterfly larvae.

Monarch Butterfly Larva, Danaus plexippus
on Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca

Wingstem is a plant that I have been waiting to see in person. I have always been struck by the flowers in photos and I was no less struck when I saw the very tall plants in person. This patch ranged from 5- to 8-feet high.

Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia

Thistle with Soldier Beetle and Bumblebee

Common Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis

Rose Hips

Another plant that Susan showed me is the Hop-hornbeam, Ostrya virginiana. I have seen a lot of them, but never with the hop-like fruit capsules.

Hop-Hornbeam "Hops", Ostrya virginiana

Chestnut Oak, Quercus montana

Lake Down in the Creek Bottom

It was a great visit with my father and my aunt and uncle. Saying goodbye is the part of moving on that really bothers me but going to Oregon is something that Ann and I just have to do.